An introduction for the intelligent reader
HOMER
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
A semi-legendary poet, two monumental poems, a real city under a Turkish hill, and — twenty-eight centuries on — the biggest opening of Christopher Nolan's career. This site maps what is known, what is legend, and what is still argued.
- Legend ancient tradition, not evidence
- Disputed live scholarly argument
- Evidence datable ink, stone, bronze
- ἀοιδός
Who Was Homer?
The blind bard of Chios is a legend. What remains when the legend is set aside.
- μῆνις
The Iliad
Fifty-one days of the war’s tenth year, and the wrath of one man.
- νόστος
The Odyssey
Ten years of homecoming: disguise, recognition, and a bed carved from an olive tree.
- κύκλος
Beyond the Epics
The six lost epics of the Trojan cycle, the Hymns, and a mock-epic about frogs.
- Ϝίλιος
Troy & History
Hisarlik, the Hittite tablets, and how much war is under the poetry.
- ὀβελός
Transmission
From singers to Alexandria to a tenth-century book in Venice.
- ἑρμηνεία
Translations
Chapman to Wilson: which Homer to read, and which are free to everyone.
- εἴδωλον
Homer on Screen
Nolan’s IMAX epic, Petersen’s Troy, Kirk Douglas, and the Coens.
- βιβλιοθήκη
Resources
Open editions, digital libraries, and a reading path that costs nothing.